Very enlightening. I like that you have a number of discreet passive income streams working for you. I”m not sure about such a large CD/ bank holding though, though it looks as though its giving you a fairly healthy income. How do you feel about a rising inflation rate on your effective real cash return? I’m looking to diversify beyond my current dividend passive income. Rental income is what I expect we’ll be harvesting next. P2P lending is a little too out of my comfort zone. I had a lot of exposure to consumer credit risk models at a prior role, and it scared me the heck away from consumer lending!

Income inequality refers to the extent to which income is distributed in an uneven manner. It can be measured by various methods, including the Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient. Economists generally agree that certain amounts of inequality are necessary and desirable but that excessive inequality leads to efficiency problems and social injustice.[3]
Poverty rates in India's poorest states are three to four times higher than those in the more advanced states. While India's average annual per capita income was $1,410 in 2011 – placing it among the poorest of the world's middle-income countries – it was just $436 in Uttar Pradesh (which has more people than Brazil) and only $294 in Bihar, one of India's poorest states.
The launch of the Expressway Development Support Project (EDSP) marked a historic moment in the WBG’s partnership with Ethiopia, as it is the first project co-financed with China EXIM Bank and South Korea EXIM Bank. The project brings together traditional and non-traditional development partners to work on a single project, with standardized design, safeguards, and joint-supervision.

With the way the economy is going Multiple streams of income is the way to go if you know what your doing. I luved your insight and your so right there are so many ways. The best way that i know of is to brand oneself cause people dont join business they join YOU. Like , trust is key ingredient along with building your list after all the money is in the list or should i say the people in the list. The best part with the system im presently using is i still get paid with affiliate even if they don’t join my primary biz…

1. I started with doing tuitions , even after I picked my first work. Being in IT, I always had 5 days a week schedule but tuition/coaching is a time-tested way to earn clean money. I was teaching Mathematics to class X people. And if your pupil do good, like what happened when I was teaching this lady (in 1995) whose parents have given up on her, she was a in a plush school and I don't know what worked, she got such good marks that they hunted me down for a big pack of sweets after her X board exam, then that is extremely rewarding. You can start from your home, do evening class then move to a rented place and so on. It is very tiring but as I said, noone would short-change a teacher.
I actually spent a year and a half working as an affiliate marketer (mostly selling drumming related products – lessons, kits ect). 5 years on and one of my one page sites (which I’ve not touched) still nets me about $150 a month. I won’t be retiring off that but only really now appreciate the reverse pyramid approach to entrepreneurship (working for nothing initially but later being paid without effort!)

That got me thinking how many people in our country cook some amazing things, but never capitalize on it. So if you have people at home who cook some speciality and you feel that it will loved by people in your city, you can start pickup service at home. Get the order, prepare the food , opt to deliver at home (at extra cost) or ask them to pick up from your place. And if you are thinking about preparing “Andhra meals” in Pune, I am your customer already.

If social capital is expecting to benefit from a share of the human capital of others, there may not be enough “others” in future generations to contribute to the well being of the current generation. It is interesting to speculate about how much guaranteed income the economy can be expected to support at any given time and for what categories of people.

I agree mostly with the real estate advice. I’m looking for ways to take advantage of the condo I own to get up the rent from ~$0.90/ft to the $1.2-1.5/ft that seems more like the range in the same area. I’d have to put in a bit of capital (probably 10k on the low end for just the basics up to 40k if I wanted to remodel the kitchen and 2 bathrooms up to par with the area), so the return is likely there if those upgrades warrant $1.30/ft (given the unit is larger than most 2br/2ba in the area).

Investing in rental properties: Another form of real estate investment, rental investments (i.e. becoming a landlord) could steer you down the passive income path of steady monthly rent checks that you can use to pay off a mortgage loan on the rental property. After the mortgage is paid off, those monthly checks go right into your bank account -- potentially for years to come.
Amazing article Jim. Jammed packed with great information and inspiration for a finance blogger looking to find ways to diversify income streams. Building up your capital, achieved through saving more than you earn as you described, will open doors to a lot of activities in the future. The name of the game is putting your savings to work to turn expenses and idle cash into income producing assets. It isn’t easy when you are starting from $0, but through discipline and time you will eventually be able to achieve your goals and begin using the methods you described to diversify your income streams.
Wouldn't it be nice to earn income without worrying about it? I'm not talking about doing your regular 9-to-5 job, but through passive income. Because, believe it or not, there are several easy ways to earn passive income. Yes, some of the ways may involve some work, time, and money up front, but once that's taken care of, you can sit back and watch your bank balance grow.
In the early 18th century, the Mughal Empire declined, as it lost western, central and parts of south and north India to the Maratha Empire, which integrated and continued to administer those regions.[85] The decline of the Mughal Empire led to decreased agricultural productivity, which in turn negatively affected the textile industry.[86] The subcontinent's dominant economic power in the post-Mughal era was the Bengal Subah in the east., which continued to maintain thriving textile industries and relatively high real wages.[87] However, the former was devastated by the Maratha invasions of Bengal[88][89] and then British colonization in the mid-18th century.[87] After the loss at the Third Battle of Panipat, the Maratha Empire disintegrated into several confederate states, and the resulting political instability and armed conflict severely affected economic life in several parts of the country – although this was mitigated by localised prosperity in the new provincial kingdoms.[85] By the late eighteenth century, the British East India Company had entered the Indian political theatre and established its dominance over other European powers. This marked a determinative shift in India's trade, and a less-powerful impact on the rest of the economy.[90]
Great post Jim. While it is convenient to lump the entire dividend income as one passive stream, in reality, it is several. If you have 30 companies across 10 major industry sectors, each paying you dividends, then you can consider having 30 streams or at least 10 passive streams, from each of the diverse industry sectors. I find this more diverse than relying on rental income from one investment property tied to one location and one good tenant. Your point about website is absolutely valid – will be great to have Ten Factorial Rocks worth 7 figures in less than 5 years as you have done!
Passive income is attractive because it frees up your time so you can focus on the things you actually enjoy. A highly successful doctor, lawyer, or publicist, for instance, cannot “inventory” their profits. If they want to earn the same amount of money and enjoy the same lifestyle year after year, they must continue to work the same number of hours at the same pay rate—or more, to keep up with inflation. Although such a career can provide a very comfortable lifestyle, it requires far too much sacrifice unless you truly enjoy the daily grind of your chosen profession.
ie first you need to haul ass and do something crazy, eg write a quality 20,000 word ebook (insanely not passive hahahah), but then you get to sit back and enjoy seeing PayPal sale messages pop up on your iPhone each morning as sale after sale after sale is made…on an ongoing basis and without any additional work. That’s some seriously Pina Colada flavored passive goodness!
I think more and more people are recognizing the advantages of having multiple sources of income, thanks to the Great Recession. It was a real wake-up call to many good workers who lost jobs not because of poor performance but due to restructuring and cost-savings. They never considered themselves to be vulnerable and they were. We do have multiple streams of income and a fully-funded emergency fund, which has helped my family weather the ups and down life has brought us, including job loss.
Investing in real estate: Investing in real estate offers more passive income cash potential - but more risk - than investing in stocks or bonds. You'll need substantial amounts of cash to invest in buying a home -- it usually takes 20% down to land a good home mortgage loan. But history shows that home prices usually rise over time, so buying home a for $200,000 and selling it for $250,000 over a five-year time period, for example, is a reasonable expectation when investing in real estate.
I live in NYC where I never thought buying rental property would be possible, but am looking into buying rental property in the Midwest where it cash flows and have someone manage it for me (turnkey real estate investing I guess some would call it). I agree with what Mike said about leverage and tax advantages, but I’m still a newbie to real estate investing so I can’t so how it will go. I have a very small amount in P2P…I’m at around 6.3% It’s okay but I don’t know how liquid it is and it still is relatively new…I’d prefer investing in the stock market.
These days, low-risk bond yields aren’t enough to meet most income needs. When investing in bonds, the income typically comes as coupon payments – contractually guaranteed interest payments at predictable intervals. There are many kinds of bond income available, so you must strike a balance between reaching for higher income (yield) and limiting risk.